Two die in accidents in Yellowstone National Park

Posted 8/19/14

Zahra Allahyar, from Poway, a Southern California community near San Diego, and her family members had parked their vehicle in a trailhead parking area along the North Rim Drive, a short scenic route off the park’s Grand Loop Road near Canyon …

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Two die in accidents in Yellowstone National Park

Posted

An 8-year-old California girl died Sunday morning after falling into the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone National Park.

She was the second person to perish in an accident in the park in a week. Three people have died from accidents in Yellowstone this year, according to the National Park Service.

Zahra Allahyar, from Poway, a Southern California community near San Diego, and her family members had parked their vehicle in a trailhead parking area along the North Rim Drive, a short scenic route off the park’s Grand Loop Road near Canyon Village, according to a YNP news release.

The group was about two-thirds of the way down the trail to the Brink of the Lower Falls observation platform when the child reportedly stepped off the trail and then lost her footing, according to the release. Allahyar fell approximately 550 feet into the canyon.

Park personnel retrieved her body around noon Sunday. The incident remains under investigation.

On Saturday, the body of a man missing in Yellowstone since Aug. 11 was recovered, according to a news release.

Darien Latty, 22, of Demorest, Ga., had gone tubing with friends on the Lamar River near Tower Junction on that date. Shortly after reaching the point where the Lamar River flows into the Yellowstone River, his two companions managed to get to the river’s edge and get out of the much-faster moving water.

Latty was last seen being swept downstream, separated from his inner tube and without a life jacket.

Search efforts began that evening. At its peak, more than 50 people were involved in the search, including a helicopter, three dog teams and several groups of searchers on foot.

Late Friday, searchers spotted what they thought was a submerged body pinned to a large rock in a very steep and dangerous section of Yellowstone River, about one-quarter mile downstream from where Latty was last seen.

A swiftwater rescue team from Gallatin County, Mont., was called in Saturday to navigate the river. Using kayaks and a raft anchored to both banks of the river, they were able to dislodge and recover Latty’s body Saturday afternoon. A helicopter was utilized to remove his body from the remote area.

The coroner made a positive identification Saturday evening.

Latty was working as a summer seasonal employee in Yellowstone at Roosevelt Lodge. An autopsy will be conducted to confirm the cause of death.

Floating the river is prohibited by park regulations.

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